Now in Print
Now in Print is the print-on-demand (PoD) program operated by OneBookShelf, Inc.'s series of sites: DriveThruRPG, RPGNow, DriveThruComics, and DriveThruFiction. The program is slowly converting White Wolf's back catalogue to a PoD format. Many older products are out of print and no longer supported; the secondary market prices for some of these older books can be astronomical. The Now in Print program means they'll never be out of print again. Additionally, many products are available in multiple formats. Some products are available in a choice of black-and-white or full colour (e.g. ), while others are available in a choice of hardcover or softcover (e.g. ). This also means some products with colouring errors are now fixed, and looking the way they were originally intended (e.g. ). Some decade-old products were previously only available in PDF, and are available in print for the first time (e.g. ). Schedule Due to wide variances in the process of preparing a file for PoD, no published schedule is currently available. The process works roughly like so: * Due to a combination of factors — availability of original stock, demand on the secondary market, etc. — products are arranged in terms of priority. * Original publication files are obtained. In some cases this is straightforward, and files are located on DVD in the archive room. In other cases, it's less so; files may be on the home computers of former editing and layout staff, or lost in the US but one of the licensed translators still has a copy. In some cases, older computers needed to be bought from eBay in order to read the older file formats the files were in. * If the files can be retrieved, a PoD file is prepped (different than a PDF file). At this point, a new original electronic format (OEF) PDF is usually prepared, and replaces the scanned-image PDF on DriveThruRPG. * If the files cannot be retrieved at present, a high-resolution scan is made of the physical book. PoD files and new PDFs are prepared from this scan. While OEF files are always preferred, sometimes this is the best available option. * The PoD files are sent to Lightning Source, the PoD printing company used by OneBookShelf. * Proof copies are printed, and sent to White Wolf and OneBookShelf. If any errors pop up, Lightning fixes the problem on their end, or White Wolf/OBS prepares a new PoD file, as appropriate. New proofs are printed and sent. * The sequence repeats until everyone's happy with the results. Because of the uncertainty in every step of the process, any given two books up for PoD conversion at the same time can be finalized months apart. This is the rationale for not publishing a release schedule, but rather surprising customers with a new batch of products periodically. Availability Here on the Wiki, in addition to our PDF notation ( , , ) we denote products available via the Now in Print program via a small book symbol: Any products featuring this symbol are available in print, or in the case of some board games, feature some print components. Category:White Wolf